As we grow old, we realize that we have so little time to read and there are so many great books that we’ve yet to get around to.Yet re readers are everywhere around us.For certain fans, re reading The Lord of the Rings is a conventional practice annually.One friend told me that Jane Austen’s Emma can still surprise him, despite his having read it over 50 times.

New sudden clear understandings can be gained from the process of re reading.Journalist Rebacca Mead, a long time Englishwoman in New York, first came across George Eliot’s Middlemarch at 17.Since then, she has read it again every five years.With each re reading, it has opened up further; in each chapter of her life, it has resonated (引起共鸣) differently.Mead evidenced the large number of ways in which really good books not only stand the test of repeat reads, but also offer fresh gifts each time we crack their spines.These kinds of books grow with us.

Scientists have also recognized the mental health benefits of re reading.Research conducted with readers in the US found that on our first reading, we are concerned with the “what” and the “why”.Second time round, we’re able to better appreciate the emotions that the plot continues to express.As researcher CristelRussell of the American University explained, returning to a book “brings new or renewed appreciation of both the great book and its readers.”

It’s true that we often find former selves on the pages of old books (if we’re fond of making notes on the pages).These texts can carry us back to a time and place, and remind us of the kind of person that we were then.We’re changed not only by lived experience but also by read experience – by the books that we’ve discovered since last reading the one in our hand.

More so than the movie director or the musician, the writer calls upon our imaginations, using words to lead us to picture this declaration of love or that unfaithfulness in life.A book is a joint project between writers and readers, and we must pour so much of ourselves into reading that our own life story can become connected with the story in the book.

Perhaps what’s really strange is that we don’t re read more often.After all, we watch our favourite films again and we wouldn’t think of listening to an album only once.We treasure messy old paintings as objects, yet of all art forms, literature alone is a largely one time delight.A book, of course, takes up more time, but as Mead confirms, the rewards make it adequately worthwhile.

1.The two books are mentioned in Paragraph 1 mainly to __________.

A.attract the attention of readers

B.introduce the topic of the passage

C.provide some background information

D.show the similarity between re readers

2.The underlined expression “crack their spines” in Paragraph 2 refers to ________.

A.recite them

B.read them

C.recall them

D.retell them

3.It can be learned from the passage that __________.

A.reading benefits people both mentally and physically

B.readers mainly focus on feelings on their first reading

C.we know ourselves better through reading experience

D.writers inspire the same imaginations as film directors do

4.The purpose of the passage is to __________.

A.call on different understandings of old books

B.focus on the mental health benefits of reading

C.bring awareness to the significance of rereading

D.introduce the effective ways of reading old books

Across the rich world, well-educated people increasingly work longer than the less-skilled. Some 65% of American men aged 62-74 with a professional degree are in the workforce, compared with 32% of men with only a high-school certificate. This gap is part of a deepening divide between the well-education well off and the unskilled poor. Rapid technological advance has raised the incomes of the highly skilled while squeezing those of the unskilled. The consequences, for individual and society, are profound.

The world is facing as astonishing rise in the number of old people, and they will live longer than ever before. Over the next 20 years the global population of those aged 65 or more will almost double, from 600 million to 1.1 billion. The experience of the 20th century, when greater longevity translated into more years in retirement rather than more years at work, has persuaded many observers that this shift will lead to slower economic growth, while the swelling ranks of pensioners will create government budget problems.

But the notion of a sharp division between the working young and the idle old misses a new trend, the growing gap between the skilled and the unskilled. Employment rates are falling among younger unskilled people, whereas older skilled folk are working longer. The divide is most extreme in America, where well-educated baby-boomers (二战后生育高峰期出生的美国人) are putting off retirement while many less-skilled younger people have dropped out of the workforce.

That even the better-off must work longer to have a comfortable retirement. But the changing nature of work also plays a big role. Pay has risen sharply for the highly educated, and those people continue to reap rich rewards into old age because these days the educated elderly are more productive than the preceding generation. Technological change may well reinforce that shift: the skills that complement computers, from management knowhow to creativity. Do not necessarily decline with age.

1.what is happening in the workforce in rich countries?

A. younger people are replacing the elderly

B. well-educated people tend to work longer

C. unemployment rates are rising year after year

D. people with no college degree do not easily find work

2.what has helped deepen the divide between the well-off and poor?

A. Longer life expectancies

B. Profound changes in the workforce

C. rapid technological advance.

D. A growing number of well-graduated.

3.what do many observers predict in view of the experience of the 20th century?

A. Economic growth will slow down.

B. Government budgets will increase.

C. More people will try to pursue higher education

D. There will be more competition in the job market.

4.What is the result of policy changes in European countries?

A. Unskilled workers may choose to retire early.

B. more people have to receive in-service training.

C. Even wealthy people must work longer to live comfortably in retirement.

D. People may be able to enjoy generous defined-benefits from pension plans.

5.What is characteristic of work in the 21st century?

A. Computers will do more complicated work.

B. More will be taken by the educated young.

C. Most jobs to be done will be creative ones.

D. Skills are highly valued regardless of age.

A

Fat and shy, Ben Saunders was the last kid in his class picked for any sports team. "Football, tennis, cricket--- anything with a round ball, I was useless," he says now with a laugh. But back then he was the one always made fun of in school gym classes in Devonshire, England.

It was a mountain bike he received for his 15th birthday that changed him. At first he went biking alone in a nearby forest. Then he began to ride the bike along with a runner friend. Gradually, Saunders set up his mind on building up his body, increasing his speed and strength. At the age of 18, he ran his first marathon.

The following year he met John Ridgway and was hired as an instructor at Ridgway's school of adventure in Scotland, where he learnt about Ridgway's cold-water exploits. Greatly interested, Saunders read all he could about North Pole explorers and adventures, the decided that this would be his future.

In 2001, after becoming a skillful skier, Saunders started his first long-distance expedition towards the North Pole. It took unbelievable energy. He suffered frostbite, ran into a polar bear and pushed his body to the limit, pulling his supply-loaded sled up and over rocky rice.

Saunders has since become the youngest person to ski alone to the North Pole, and he's skied more of the North Pole by himself than any other British man. His old playmates would not believe the change.

Next October, Saunders, 27, heads south from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole and back, a 2900-kilometer journey that has never been completed on skis.

1.What change happened to Saunders after he was 15 years old?

A. He became good at most sports.

B. He began to build up his body.

C. He joined a sports team

D. He made friends with a runner.

2.The underlined word “exploits” (paragraph 3) is closest in meaning to ______.

A. journeys B. researches

C. adventures D. operations. W

3.What does the story mainly tell us abut Saunders?

A. He is a success in sports.

B. He is the best British skier.

C. He is Ridgway's best student.

D. He is a good instructor at school.

I was never very neat, while my roommate Kate was extremely organized. Each of her objects had its place, but mine always hid somewhere. She even labeled(贴标签) everything. I always looked for everything. Over time, Kate got neater and I got messier. She would push my dirty clothing over, and I would lay my books on her tidy desk. We both got tired of each other.

War broke out one evening. Kate came into the room. Soon, I heard her screaming, “Take your shoes away! Why under my bed!” Deafened, I saw my shoes flying at me. I jumped to my feet and started yelling. She yelled back louder.

The room was filled with anger. We could not have stayed together for a single minute but for a phone call. Kate answered it. From her end of the conversation, I could tell right away her grandma was seriously ill. When she hung up, she quickly crawled(爬)under her covers, sobbing. Obviously, that was something she should not go through alone. All of a sudden, a warm feeling of sympathy rose up in my heart.

Slowly, I collected the pencils, took back the books, made my bed, cleaned the socks and swept the floor, even on her side. I got so into my work that I even didn’t notice Kate had sat up. She was watching, her tears dried and her expression one of disbelief. Then, she reached out her hands to grasp mine. I looked up into her eyes. She smiled at me, “Thanks.”

Kate and I stayed roommates for the rest of the year. We didn’t always agree, but we learned the key to living together: giving in, cleaning up and holding on.

1.What made Kate so angry one evening?

A. She couldn’t find her books.

B. She heard the author shouting loud.

C. She got the news that her grandma was ill.

D. She saw the author’s shoes beneath her bed.

2.The author tidied up the room most probably because______________.

A. She was scared by Kate’s anger.

B. She hated herself for being so messy

C. She wanted to show her care

D. She was asked by Kate to do so

3.How is Paragraph 1 mainly developed?

A. By analyzing分析 causes.

B. By showing differences.

C. By describing a process过程.

D. By following time order.

4.What might be the best title for the story?

A. My Friend Kate B. Hard Work Pays Off

C. How to Be Organized D. Learning to Be Roommates

七选五:共5题 每题2分 共10分

How to Be a Good Tourist

We travel for work but also for fun and learning. New restaurants, galleries, temples and new architecture…These places are homes for people like us who live and work there. How would you want visitors to behave in your own home? Think about it. 1.There are many ways of doing this without sacrificing our own holiday.

Do your homework2. Guides will help you when you get to site, but is that the best place to go? Is it popular only because the one-day tourist can see it easily or because it is really a worthwhile place to visit? You’d better check it out.

3.Don’t go to your hotels for meals. Walk around, even if in the streets closest to your hotel. Eat in local restaurants.Talk to the locals. Learn a few in the local language and use them. You will surely get a smile from the hotel staff and street sellers .

Help preserve the sites. Most of the sites you visit may be visited by millions of people a year, so care needs to be taken to allow others to enjoy them as well. Some of these monuments are so old and fragile that they are sensitive to the touch of hands or bags and shows. 4. This way, you don’t encourage the use of those plastic bags that fly all over many sites.

And here’s the big one—good manners are nearly universal. 5.If that doesn’t sound like you, then give the world a break and stay home.

A. Experience the place.

B. Always have a cloth bag with you .

C. Read up on the places you want to visit.

D. Try to buy something from the local stores.

E.A good tourist is polite, positive and eco-sensitive.

F. We’ve cleaned up after ourselves and taken only good memories.

G. If we are good tourists, wherever we go, we try to make it a little better because of our visit.

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